Deception
by Jesuslovesmarina
Summary: A continuation of The Clone Wars TV show episode, Deception. An alternate version of Friends and Enemies that results in Order 66, Palpatine vs. Anakin, etc. What if Bane had shot the unconscious Anakin before Ahsoka could get there to defend him? I don't own Star Wars. Please review!
1. Chapter 1

**Author note: Star Wars, The Clone Wars season 4 episode, "Deception" precedes this. I owe the majority of this fanfic to direct quotes from the next episode, "Friends and Enemies". I own NONE of this. And I guarantee the story will never be abandoned, because it's already been written in its entirety. I will probably publish a chapter every few days. Enjoy, and please review!**

Star Wars: Deception

**A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away… **

Obi-Wan Kenobi has recently been dispatched on a top-secret mission to fake his own death and infiltrate a separatist plot against Chancellor Palpatine. Impersonating the famed bounty hunter Rako Hardin, who is supposedly the same man who killed him, he gains some trust with the plot's mastermind, Moralo Eval, and travels with him and Cad Bane to the planet Serenno to receive orders from Count Dooku. Even Obi-Wan's closest friends know nothing of the fact that Obi-Wan is still alive, hence the title, "Deception"…

Chapter 1

The swampy atmosphere of Nal-Hutta, home planet of all Hutts, was fast approaching as Obi-Wan Kenobi flew the bounty hunters' ship toward the surface.

"We're comin' in fast, Hardin. Are ya tryin' to kill us?" Cad Bane growled, creeping up on Obi-Wan from the back of the ship.

"They'll be waiting for us in every spaceport. We have to ditch the ship!" Obi-Wan explained impatiently, continuing his reckless flight pattern. It was funny how he no longer felt much concern for the safety of the group, now that the group he was with was composed of two ruthless bounty hunters. He was used to reprimanding Anakin for flying the same way _he_ was now.

But, there was no time for reflection. Only continuing to think in correspondence with the mask he'd donned. Rako Hardin was a hardened criminal. Obi-Wan had been all over the galaxy and fought in many battles, but he still suspected he hadn't had nearly the experience his alias had, and didn't necessarily want to.

Bane, with his odd-looking blue head uncovered for once, sulked in the back of the bouncing ship. "You'll be thinking that same way when the ship crashes into the swamp," he said sarcastically.

"Yeah. That is exactly what I'm gonna do," Obi-Wan replied, continuing the sarcasm.

"He's right," Moralo Eval said grimly. "We have no choice." His face, which was covered in a hard shell out of which his yellow eyes gleamed, still managed to reveal his nervousness. Moralo Eval was in a hurry. Obi-Wan wished he knew why.

"Get ready for a fast exit," he warned.

They flew almost impossibly close to the planet's greenish, hazy surface. Large chunks of driftwood raced past below them, jutting out closer and closer to the bottom of the ship. Huge bat-like creatures swarmed overhead as he struggled to see through the mist.

Obi-Wan braced for impact as the first piece of driftwood smashed into the port side. The ship thudded along the ground and the group inside was thrown forward.

It continued to travel, bouncing and crashing, tipping end-over-end until finally, it came to a stop with a loud _splash!_

The swamp. Of course.

_Maybe I should take ship-crashing lessons from Anakin when I get back…_

At least they were all alive.

Obi-Wan wasted no time in getting up from the cockpit and heading toward the nearest hole in the side of the ship. Cad Bane followed closely behind him, wincing painfully and obviously less than thrilled about their landing experience. Moralo followed as well, still looking worried.

Obi-Wan reached up through an opening in the top and hoisted himself out up onto the surface of the ship. "Nobody can trace us here," he reminded the group. "The swamp will swallow up the ship."

"So we leave no trace of our crash," Moralo muttered, sounding a bit more pleased. He raised an eyebrow at Bane. "Moralo Eval likes a man who plans ahead." He headed over to the edge and jumped into the swamp, which wasn't deep.

He turned to Obi-Wan as they reached the sandy shore. "You do have a plan?" he questioned, with an edge in his voice.

"Yeah," he answered carefully. "I know Nal-Hutta. We can get a new ship in Nalsa Bazaar. But this time," he raised an eyebrow at Moralo, "we BUY one. Otherwise, we'll have the authorities back on our tail."

Bane stopped him midstride. "Not so fast," he said. "We need to ditch these prison fatigues."

Obi-Wan felt a little disappointed. _"What _were_ you thinking?" _he told himself, _"That they would just walk into the Chancellor's office with their bright orange prison uniforms on?_

"We'll have a bounty on our heads for escaping," Bane continued, "And I don't like to stand out."

Obi-Wan couldn't blame him.

After about half an hour, they had reached the nearest settlement on foot. _"Basically a hole in the wet ground,"_ Obi-Wan thought. A few lit signs warmed the otherwise murky street, and the tips of several security electrostaffs.

"Local security," Bane sounded displeased. "Keep low."

They lowered their heads and hurried past while one security guard was busy stabbing a shoplifter with his staff.

Bane led them through the village and toward a large, dingy hut that was built up above the rest of the town.

"We'll get some new gear and equipment," he said. "Pablo's pawnshop has everything a bounty hunter needs—and more."

Inside, the pawnshop was dark, but it was neat and well-organized. A middle-aged Twi'lek woman was arranging the ceramics on their shelves.

It was a remarkably short time before they had selected clothes for themselves, but Bane continued to linger, even with Moralo Eval trying to direct them all toward the door. "Now all I need is a new hat," Obi-Wan heard him mutter. The blue-headed alien tried on a wide-brimmed one that was hanging off the corner of the shelf.

"If you're trying to blend in, your hat sure makes you stand out," Obi-Wan commented curtly, adjusting his sleeves. Not that he was complaining.

He noticed a Mandalorian-style helmet sitting on the next shelf and picked it up. Obi-Wan liked Mandalorian style. It always reminded him of Satine, and the time he'd spent on Mandalore, protecting her, all those years ago.

She would be mourning him as dead. It was not a pleasant thought.

"I don't like to hide behind a helmet," Bane sneered.

Of course, there were many unpleasant things to think about at that moment.

Pablo, a Rodian in a purple jacket and with an anxious-to-please, worried smile on his face, approached Bane cautiously from the side. "Is—is there anything else you desire?" he said in a remarkably smooth accent. "Perhaps—a new ship?

Bane stared down at him. "Your choice of weapons is lousy, Pablo," he growled, batting him aside. "Where can I get some quality blasters?"

"I—would not be too picky, being on the run as you are," Pablo stuttered with a smile.

Bane had him flat up against the wall in a split second, the sharp end of his toothpick under his green snout, making him gag. "I'd keep my mouth shut if I were you, Pablo," he threatened. "I'll find weapons elsewhere."

Then, letting the Rodian drop, he turned to leave. "Thanks for the hat."

Pablo gasped and gagged, trying to recover his breath and nerves after the close encounter. The Twi'lek woman, probably the wife, ran up to Pablo and began exclaiming over him worriedly in another tongue.

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes at Bane, then turned to Pablo and the Twi'lek. "Here," he said gruffly, holding out a small credit package, "For your trouble."

The woman slapped it away with a scorning look and turned back to Pablo.

It stung Obi-Wan in a way he hadn't expected. It was impossible to be a good guy when he went around with bad company.

Outside, Obi-Wan ran to catch up with Bane. "Those traders call worse threats than yours, Bane," he accused. "We might as well call the Hutts right now, seein' what kind of bounty there is on us."

Moralo Eval looked back and forth from him to Bane, concerned about the friction between them. Obi-Wan knew that if Moralo had to choose only one of them to take to Serenno, it would be Bane, without question.

Then he noticed a gathering of Gamorrean Hutt guards just ahead of them.

Bane slapped his shoulder. "Relax. In this mudhole, everyone's an outlaw. Besides, they're looking for three of us, so we're splitting up. Go find a ship," he told Obi-Wan. "We'll go get weapons."

"Not so fast," Obi-Wan stopped him. "If it's all the same to you, _I'll_ get the weapons."

"It's not the same to me," Bane growled. He pointed at Obi-Wan's chest. "You crashed the ship. You get us a new one."

Obi-Wan shrugged as he left. So much for that plan.

Moralo Eval shrugged as well. "It does seem fair," he said, before following Bane.

Obi-Wan settled on his helmet and set off toward the shipyards.

"No, that's my final offer," Obi-Wan firmly stated. The Loraa salesman started to protest, but when he didn't respond, the salesman appeared to give up.

When he wasn't looking, Obi-Wan reached up and carefully planted a tracking device on the hull of the ship he was attempting to buy.

As he stepped out from underneath, the salesman walked up, talking in the strange, groaning, clucking language of Loram. He had learned to understand it fairly well during his travels with Qui-Gon years ago. "Alright then, it's a deal," he told him.

Just then, Moralo Eval and Bane walked up.

"Hey, good timing," he greeted them. "Soon as you pay for the ship we can get moving."

"With pleasure," Moralo Eval stated, moving forward.

Obi-Wan noticed Bane was only carrying two blasters. "Hey, where's my weapon?"

"Won't need it," Bane replied, looking as close to gleeful as Obi-Wan had ever seen him. "You're not coming."

"Says who?" Obi-Wan barked.

"He doesn't want to split his fee for breaking me out of prison," Moralo Eval said, avoiding Obi-Wan's face as he and Bane climbed up the gangplank. "And also—" he faced him with a shrug, "he despises you."

"I'm not going anywhere without my reward!" Obi-Wan exclaimed, trying not to panic. The Republic had poured so much into this mission—he couldn't just let them leave!

"I'm sorry, this is between _you two_," Moralo Eval gestured with his thumb between him and Bane before disappearing into the ship.

"What's it gonna be, Bane?" Obi-Wan seethed.

Then he noticed the traders from earlier, Pablo and his wife, coming toward them with a horde of Hutt guards. The woman was screeching to them as she affectionately caressed her husband's face. And the guards came straight toward _them_.

"Here's your reward," Bane growled, giving Obi-Wan a shove. "I'm not killing you!" Some kind of spray shot out of Bane's wristguards, hitting Obi-Wan right in the eyes.

"Ahh!" It stung horribly and almost blinded him, then Bane kicked him in the stomach and he tumbled down the gangplank onto the marshy ground, still unable to see.

Vaguely, he made out the shape of the ship he'd just bought blasting off into the atmosphere, a collection of guards and police surrounding him, and one raising an electropole over his head…


	2. Chapter 2

_Wow! Look at the responses this story's getting already! Fantastic, hi everybody! At the bottom of the page, I am replying to reviews. Please continue; it's exciting to see what y'all have to say! Enjoy the next chapter,_

_~Marina_

Chapter 2

It was dark. His head was extended toward the ceiling—what was up there? –Dirt? Oh, he was upside-down, that was it. What he was looking at was the ground. He was strapped to a frame of poles. The dark silhouette of the guard who'd hit him was pacing up and down in front of him. "Where am I?" he groaned.

The guard spoke in a deep, crackly voice. "You are guest of the Hutts," he said unceremoniously. "If you do not answer my questions about your two partners—"

He zapped Obi-Wan with the tip of its electrostaff, and electricity shot through him painfully. Obi-Wan groaned.

"—we will not be so hospitable."

He stabbed him again, then held up a strange contraption with a wire end, swinging it around and preparing to strike.

"Wait!" Obi-Wan gasped out, just in time. "Torture won't be necessary!" he strained to get out of the frame, but it held strong. "My partners double-crossed me but—I put a tracking device on their ship. L—Let me down, and I'll tell you the frequency."

The guard thought for a moment, then signaled to another who had control of the frame's binding. The Gamorrean hit a lever and Obi-Wan plummeted headfirst to the ground. _"Ow…"_

"Now," the head guard said menacingly, coming closer to him, "tell us the tracking frequency…"

By the next hour, Obi-Wan found himself back up on the frame after having been questioned further about Bane and Moralo Eval. He hadn't had much to tell, but he told what he knew.

The harder the Hutts assailed the bounty hunters, the more he could help them, and earn their trust.

A comlink suddenly went off, and the head guard answered it. A strained voice came over the speakers. _"Their ship will crash soon on Nal-Hutta. Be there to capture the fugitives." _

The guard eyed him, knowing for certain now that he had been telling the truth about the tracking frequency. Then the two guards turned to leave.

"There's the ship, like I said," Obi-Wan called after them. "The deal was you let me go now!"

"The deal has changed," the head guard snickered, heading toward the Hutt palace.

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes and reached up to examine the binders around his legs. Carefully, he loosened them with the Force and jumped softly, landing on his feet. Summoning the Force, he reached out as the guard was examining _his_ Mandalorian helmet and a long pole flew into his hand. He struck the ground with it, causing the guard to turn around. The pole went flying toward the guard's head with a loud _thwack_, effectively knocking him unconscious. The bony figure fell to the ground with a soft thump.

Obi-Wan quietly picked up his helmet, put it on, and snuck out.

There were several guards standing by the entrance to the Hutt palace. He watched for the right moment, and sprinted behind them, climbing onto a small building on the other side of the street.

While safely hidden behind the roof, he pulled out his comlink to contact the Jedi. "This is Ben. I apologize for being out of communication but the situation is rather—tenuous. Although—" looking overhead, he saw the bounty hunters' ship smoking across the sky, being chased by the Hutt ships— the sun was beginning to rise. "—it does appear things may be on track soon. Here's what we need. I need the bounty on us removed. If I can win over Cad Bane, I can learn more about Eval's plot. But—there can be no more complications. So, no matter what you hear, do not contact me or send help.

"Oh, and—one more thing—I should need enough credits to buy a new ship."

"Why are you removing the bounty on the three fugitives?" Chancellor Palpatine asked suspiciously, as he sat in his office, talking with Mace Windu via hologram.

Mace's jaw was set. "If they're free to move, they could lead us back to Eval's operation," he explained.

"Very well," Palpatine barely smiled, "Keep me appraised."

He shut off the comm. and turned toward his visitor, who sat across from him. "You look troubled, Anakin," he observed.

Anakin did indeed look troubled; actually, he looked downright enraged. "How can they expect me to just sit here, and do nothing, with Obi-Wan's murderer on the loose!?" he demanded to no one in particular, getting up from his seat and beginning to pace angrily in front of the Palpatine's desk.

Palpatine watched him closely. "It is possible—they do not trust you to control your feelings," he suggested, his tone smooth as butter.

"Hardin killed my master. My best friend!" Anakin cried. "He's escaping with Cad Bane, and Moralo Eval, and the Jedi Council won't do anything about it!"

"I have it from a reliable source that the fugitives were last headed towards—Nal-Hutta," he said casually, walking over to his large window to stand next to Anakin. "You cannot deny your feelings, Anakin. They are—what make you special."

Anakin rubbed a hand across his face wearily. "I know that by now, Chancellor," he replied. "But the Jedi Council _is_ sometimes trustworthy, as much as I hate to admit it. But whether I should trust them now—I—I just can't tell. If Obi-Wan was alive and with those bounty hunters, I would know what to do. But he's not!" his voice broke on the last sentiment.

Palpatine put a hand on his shoulder. "The Jedi have failed to avenge your master, and they have also failed to stop this plot against me." He looked the Jedi squarely in the eye. "If you believe you can accomplish these things, _I_ trust you."

"Thank you, Chancellor," Anakin replied, his brow furrowed. "You won't regret this. But—no offense, I can't go as your private send-off. If anyone asks, I'm doing this of my own free will."

Palpatine nodded, eyebrows raised. "Whatever you say."

**Replies to Reviewers: **

**starflyergirl: Thank you! So far it's pretty consistent with the episode, but that's about to change. So glad to have you as a reader!**

**NaLuForever789: Thank you also! Please let me know what you think of my adaption and writing style—I've been wondering lately if I need to up the quality of my work. Any ideas would be awesome (=**

**Mo Angel: Awesome. I know I loved this story arc and I've written about three or four different versions of what happened afterward lol! So glad that you like it too! The other version that I have published is The End of the Clone Wars, which is a much bigger story that I'm still working on. Check it out if you feel so inclined (-=**

**Stilwater Rundeepo: Yes, I agree, there was no change in the last chapter. This is where the diversion starts, just a little here at the end, and in the next chapter it totally changes. Glad you like it! **


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

At approximately ten in the morning, Cad Bane and Moralo Eval, a little worse for wear, found themselves walking through the same streets of Nal-Hutta they had only a few hours earlier.

A familiar voice called down to them. "Back so soon?"

The pair looked up.

Rako Hardin cheerily held up his glass to them from his seat outside the saloon. Humiliated, they began to climb the stairs toward him.

"Lemme guess," Hardin said, casually twirling his drink, "You missed me?"

Bane shot forward and in a few angry strides had Obi-Wan pinned against the outside wall. His glass shattered to the floor.

"Watch it!" the bartended yelled.

Bane held his hand curled in a tight grip around Obi-Wan's throat.

"Kill me!" Obi-Wan protested, eyes wide in spite of himself. "And you'll never leave Nal-Hutta!"

"Moralo Eval is running out of time, and patience!" Moralo Eval exclaimed, shoving Bane aside. "Let the man talk!"

Obi-Wan choked and gagged for a moment before he could get his breath. "Look," he said finally, "I've got a ship. You've got the Hutts on your tail, so, you make me a partner—in everything!"

Moralo Eval snorted disgustedly. "The deal is _accepted_." He didn't sound too happy about it, but Obi-Wan knew he had no choice.

"No!" Bane protested with a humiliated snarl. "First I wanna know where you got the credits to buy a new ship!"

"You thought you left me for dead," Obi-Wan explained, narrowing his eyes at the bounty hunter. "but the Hutts owed me a favor."

"You shelled out everything about us—" Bane stopped, staring at him furiously.

"You would have done the same thing, Bane," Obi-Wan said darkly. "The way I see it, we're even now."

"Now that we're all friends," Moralo Eval interrupted irritably, "get me off this festering stinkhole!"

Obi-Wan sauntered out to the shipyards, and the other two followed. If he believed in luck, he would've said it was starting to pick up.

"Wait!" the bartender called after them, "Who's going to pay for this mess?"

A run-down bounty hunters' ship with several passengers was just leaving the atmosphere as the Jedi cruiser arrived and landed on the swampy surface.

"What makes you think Obi-Wan's murderer is on Nal-Hutta?" Ahsoka asked her Master skeptically as they exited the ship.

"I got a tip," Anakin replied smugly, "from the Chancellor himself."

"How are we gonna find them?"

"Ahsoka," Anakin explained impatiently, "You should know by now. If you wanna find a lowlife—"

"—You start at the saloon," Ahsoka finished, pointing casually in the direction of the town, where a huge saloon welcomed every visitor. Beings of every shape, size, and nature swarmed the outdoor area, at least, drinking and laughing wildly and dancing around like madmen, even this early in the morning.

As they entered the building, two Twi'leks were carrying out a small beastly-looking being who was too drunk to stand on his own.

Two Gamorrean guards held up their battleaxes to prevent them from walking in. Their pig-like noses were wet and beady eyes stuck out from under their helmets.

Without any hesitation, Anakin held up his hand and the two guards were thrown back against the side of the bar. People started and laughed with excitement upon seeing a Jedi work and all eyes were on Anakin to see what he would do next.

Using the Force, he lifted the axe just out of one Gamorrean's hand and, with one fluid motion, sent it flying into the wall, where it stuck in the mortar with a few hairs from the head of a startled, nearby Goantmor.

The saloon exploded in applause before everyone went back to their drinks.

Anakin and Ahsoka walked up to the bar. The bartender set down the glass he'd been washing and spoke to them. "The fugitives are gone."

"All three of them, here?" Anakin asked, narrowing his eyes.

"The other two did not come in, with the third," the bartender explained.

"When did they leave?" Ahsoka asked.

The bartender folded his elongated hands carefully. "Nothing's free on Nal-Hutta, especially wh—"

Anakin slapped a fistful of credits down on the counter impatiently. "We have the money, and a Jedi rarely skips his debts," he shouted. "Now tell us quick or we'll find somebody else who can use these credits more than you can!"

The bartender held up his hand, although Ahsoka noticed that he tried to peek under Anakin's hand to see how much there was in the pile.

Anakin gave him a look that could wither lightning.

"—You just missed them," he said finally. "I heard one of them say he bought a ship—"

Anakin was already storming out the door. "Let's go, Snips."

The bartender waited until they were out of sight before going happily to counting his money.

As Captain Rex waited for Chancellor Palpatine's exit, a message suddenly appeared on his hologram.

When he answered it, the form of General Windu came into focus. "Captain Rex, I need to speak with General Skywalker. He's not responding to my calls," Windu said urgently.

Rex winced. He had not been looking forward to this. "Sir—General Skywalker is—unavailable."

"Where _is_ he, Captain?" Windu said darkly.

"I—can't say, sir."

"You can't, or you won't?" Windu demanded.

To Rex's relief, the Chancellor emerged from his office just then with his aside. "Anakin is on Nal-Hutta," the Chancellor told Windu calmly.

Mace stared at him in disbelief. "Nal-Hutta?"

"Protecting me is only postponing the problem, not solving it," the Chancellor told him with a deep frown.

Windu looked almost nervous. It did the Chancellor's heart good to see it. "With—all due respect, Chancellor—the Council has a plan in place…" the Jedi Master stuttered.

"Yes," Palpatine said meditatively, "And so does Moralo Eval, who appears to be several steps ahead of you. For that reason I asked Anakin to take action." He narrowed his eyes at Windu. "He went on my authority, not his own."

Windu looked startled all over again. Here was a problem in the midst of a problem—a lone Jedi following a direct order from the Chancellor?

"He is confident he can find the fugitives and stop this plot against me," Palpatine continued. "I suggest you have more faith in young Skywalker." Swiftly, the Chancellor turned to Rex. "Captain, if you _must_ escort me home, I am leaving now."

"Yes, sir," the clone responded.

When the hologram disappeared, Mace turned to Yoda, who was sitting next to him. "This is exactly what Obi-Wan _didn't_ want to happen," he muttered. "If I warn him I could blow his cover, and get him killed."

"Hmm," Yoda said gravely. "Kill Hardin, Skywalker might. Or die trying, he may." He began to pace with his walking stick. "Warn them both, we must. Overdue, the truth is."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 of 8! If you like it, please review!**

**~Marina**

Chapter 4

Meanwhile, on Nal-Hutta, Anakin was busy talking to the head ship salesman. He showed him a hologram, and the Loraa nodded, beginning to speak in his own tongue.

"How do you know they couldn't have gotten very far?" Anakin demanded.

The Loraa explained, looking slightly embarrassed.

"So you only gave them enough fuel to reach the next filling station on Orondia, which is owned by your brother," Anakin smirked, flipping him a credit for tip. "Well, that's a nice little money-making scheme."

"We'd better get going," Ahsoka told him. "Orondia's pretty deserted. They may steal a ship there, to throw us off their trail."

"I like your thinking," Anakin told her, walking back to the ship.

Orondia was a barren planet of bluish rock, glowing underground cities, a few filling stations on the surface, and not much else. However, the geographics of the planet were the last things Moralo Eval was concerned about.

"Here, take it," he complained, tossing the Loraa filling manager a pack of credits. "I just wanna get out of here! We're being swindled," he commented to Bane and Hardin. "Who only sells enough fuel to make it to this lousy rock?"

Behind them, the manager was waving them away, far too innocently.

"I ask why you keep paying off everybody but me?" Bane growled, as they climbed back into the ship.

"Yeah," Obi-Wan caught on. "Why is that?"

Moralo didn't answer. The three bounty hunters climbed in and prepared to take off.

Anakin brought the Jedi cruiser as close as he dared to the filling station, hoping to get a glimpse of who was inside.

"Look," Ahsoka called out, noticing a rugged-looking ship, "It's Cad Bane."

"Are you sure?" Anakin said tightly.

"Ugh, who else wears a hat like that?"

"Good point."

They watched as the bounty hunters' ship took off across the planet.

It was time to begin the chase. Anakin grit his teeth; Obi-Wan _would_ be avenged.

"Now what?" Moralo complained, seeing the following ship.

"Jedi," Cad Bane said flatly, with an evil-sounding edge to his voice. He smirked and shot the ship forward into the twilight.

Moralo Eval groaned, but Obi-Wan jerked to attention. Couldn't Bane be wrong? He was _certain_ Mace and Yoda had gotten his message about not being disturbed…

The Republic ship chased them closely, then passed them up and drove them closer to the ground. Bane struggled to give them some extra lift and the two ships banged together.

Obi-Wan got a sinking feeling in his chest. That reckless Jedi pilot couldn't be—it just couldn't be—

"Take over!" Anakin yelled to Ahsoka, jumping up from the pilot's chair. "I'll take 'em down!"

Ahsoka grabbed the controls and veered after the bounty hunters' ship.

Anakin flung open the side hatch and waited until they were positioned well over the other ship. Taking a deep breath, he jumped.

Obi-Wan's eyes went wide when he saw the lanky figure leap onto the hull. _Oh, no. _"I'll take care of him," he said quickly, starting up.

But Bane was too far ahead of him already. "No!" he shouted. "It's MY turn to kill a Jedi."

Obi-Wan watched him leave and slowly sat into the pilot's chair. All he could do now was keep a close watch on both of them, and be ready to interfere if he could. Anakin could take Bane, surely. But he could take Moralo Eval, too, and that could not happen. Even worse, he could take out _him_ without realizing!

Anakin sliced into the hull near where he figured the main stabilizer was. If he could hit it, the whole ship would be thrown off-kilter and crash. Suddenly behind him, there was a familiar humming noise.

The flash of jet-powered boots immediately blinded him. _Cad Bane._

He swung his lightsaber in every direction to deflect the flurry of bolts coming at him from Bane's wrist blasters. Grunting, he swept his weapon upward to knock out one of the jet boots, sending Bane flying overhead, onto the top of the ship.

Anakin leapt up after him, but Bane hadn't lost any of his nerve from the hard hit. He continued to blast toward Anakin, effectively dodging all of the bolts the Jedi deflected back at him. Anakin grit his teeth. Bane wasn't who he had come after, but it would be nice to get double revenge on this mission. Bane probably felt the same way. At least Ahsoka was still safely up in the ship. She was steadily ramming them, trying to drive them down.

Below him, the bounty hunters' ship veered from side to side, keeping them balanced but nearly throwing him off at the same time. Whoever was in that cockpit certainly knew some fancy tricks.

In front of him, Bane suddenly activated his single jet boot and sped across the hull away from him. Anakin ran after, dodging his shots as he went. They leaped down onto the front hull, partially blocking the pilot's view. The ship swerved and Anakin stumbled. Bane went sliding across the hull. Both regained their balance and were about to unleash another barrage of bolts when the ship swerved again!

"_Please fall off!" _Obi-Wan pleaded, causing the ship to swerve again. His Padawan was knocked off balance, but, realizing what he was trying to do, swung around to face him.

The recognition made Anakin angry all over again. He went back to fighting Bane, but anyone could tell his focus was on Rako Hardin/Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan desperately piloted the craft until he thought he was well positioned away from the Republic cruiser, then gave the ship as much lift as it could get. _"Clear it, clear it—" _If he could get close enough to the atmosphere, Anakin would have to jump off and the Republic cruiser would have to delay to pick him up.

He never made it. He heard a sickening crunch as the two ships collided halfway.

Obi-Wan gasped. _Come on, Ahsoka!_

They both swung around, out of control, spinning until they crashed deep into a canyon.

Several boulders collapsed on the Republic cruiser as it veered deeper into the canyon and came to a standstill. Obi-Wan's ship crashed somewhat smoothly along the edge.

"_Anakin!"_

He leaped up and peered through the windshield. Anakin and Bane had landed about a hundred meters away from them, and crashed below them was the Republic cruiser. Obi-Wan couldn't tell if anyone was still alive from his angle.

He opened the hatch, jumped from the ship, and found himself in a cloud of fog. Cautiously, he reached out with the Force while keeping his shields up, and held his blaster ready.

An ominous silence hung over the valley. _"There's got to be someone out there."_

Suddenly, he knew it was coming. Anakin leaped out of the shadows at him, tackling him and rolling over on the ground.

He threw him off. Anakin stood up, shaking in rage. "You're going to pay—" his voice cracked—"for what you did…"

"_Oh, great." _Obi-Wan thought. Anakin leaped after him again. Obi-Wan pushed him back, and they locked arms. _"So this is what it would've been like if I HAD died. Why, oh why, does Anakin have to care so much?!" _"You shouldn'tve gotten involved," he warned him gruffly as Anakin advanced on him.

The Jedi hurled him against the side of the cliff, hard, and drew out his lightsaber. "This is for Obi-Wan," he heard him mutter, raising the glowing blade high above his head.

Obi-Wan prepared to have to use the Force. Of course, it would probably bring an abrupt end to the fight, but it might also blow his cover completely.

Suddenly, a huge, durasteel cable wrapped around Anakin, drawing his arms up against his sides. Cad Bane flew overhead on the other end of the cable. "You can thank me later," the bounty hunter growled to Obi-Wan before flying off, dragging Anakin behind.

"_Oh, I will,"_ Obi-Wan thought fervently, relieved.

He ran after the pair, leaving his blaster behind. He didn't want any reason for having to use it. Ahead, he could hear Bane's mutterings and the uncomfortable click of his blaster. "You've had your chance, Hardin. Now it's my turn to—"

Anakin flipped upside-down and kicked him square in the head before landing to face him, tossing the cable aside. He still had his lightsaber in hand and ignited it to fight off Bane's shooting. In seconds, he knocked the bounty hunter's blaster out of his hand and advanced on him.

Obi-Wan ran up and tackled his apprentice before he could get to Bane. _That ought to give me some credibility down the road…_

Anakin writhed away from his grip and raised his lightsaber overhead. Obi-Wan reached up, grabbed him by the wrists, turned parallel to his body, and threw him over his shoulder against the ground. He straddled the young man and gave him a square punch to the jaw, hoping to knock him unconscious.

It didn't work. Obi-Wan punched two more times but Anakin was still trying to throw him off. He punched one more time and Anakin grabbed his forearm and twisted it, throwing him forward.

When they were separated, Anakin leaped at him. Obi-Wan sidestepped, grabbing him firmly in a sleeper hold.

Anakin elbowed him angrily, trying to get out, but Obi-Wan held tightly. "Anakin," he leaned in and whispered, "Don't. Follow me!"

He felt Anakin stop.

Hate and grief and anger coursing between them suddenly transferred into confusion and shock—and more grief.

"_Sorry, Anakin."_

His form fell limp in his arms. Obi-Wan sighed as he pushed his unconscious friend aside, pretending not to care. This mission was even harder for Anakin than it was for him. In the end, though, it would all be for the best…

A blaster shot rang out through the darkness from behind him.

Cad Bane blew steam from his blaster. "Thanks for waiting. I've been trying to kill this one for way too long."

"_ANAKIN, NO!" _

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a familiar form leap out of the fog and stand over Anakin protectively, twin green lightsabers blazing.

…_the bond that had just blazed stronger than ever was fading. No, it wasn't fading! It couldn't be! _

Ahsoka didn't have a clue yet. She hadn't seen the shot, and she was too busy deflecting Bane's lasers.

Obi-Wan threw up. The voice replicator came out with it.

He sat facing away from everyone else, not knowing what to do. _"Anakin—" _

It seemed he heard Chancellor Palpatine's voice somewhere saying, _"I'm afraid this is what happens when we deceive our friends as well as our enemies…" _

…somehow he noticed that the shooting behind him had stopped. He heard the grinding voice of Moralo Eval. "The ship is still operational. I got it working. Now let's get out of here."

Obi-Wan slowly turned around.

"You're lucky we're in a hurry, little lady," Bane tipped his hat to Ahsoka unceremoniously. He scowled. "We'll have to dance another time."

He turned to leave with Moralo. "Well, Hardin? What's the matter with you? Hope the Jedi didn't hurt you too badly…"

For once Obi-Wan didn't have anything witty to reply with.

He set his face hard as stone, and raised his hand.

Ahsoka's jaw dropped open in shock as Bane's blaster flew into the hand of Rako Hardin. In two quick shots, both Bane and Moralo, after rearing back in surprise, dropped dead and Hardin turned toward her. "Ahsoka!"

But it wasn't the voice of the bounty hunter. It was the voice of— "Master Obi-Wan?!" she squeaked out.

Rako moved toward her cautiously. "I apologize, Ahsoka—it was me. I didn't actually die—"

Ahsoka shook her head in disbelief. "Wha-wha-what in the galaxy is going on here—?"

The hardened bounty hunter-who-was-actually-Obi-Wan was crying. He was actually crying. "We were trying to stop a plot against Chancellor Palpatine. It was my idea not to tell Anakin about it!"

Ahsoka stared, dumbfounded. "—whatever you say," she finally managed. Then she noticed Anakin again. "Master! Are you all right?"

"Ahsoka—" Obi-Wan began, kneeling on the other side of Anakin. He was still breathing, thank the Maker, but it was much too gasping and ragged.

It seemed to take the young woman forever to notice. When she finally saw the wound she gasped. "Anakin? Anakin, wake up! We have to get you back to Coruscant. You're going to be all right!"

Obi-Wan finally found his voice. "Don't try to wake him, Ahsoka. We'll both get him back to the bounty hunters' ship."

She looked up at him with tears in her eyes, but there was nothing he could say.

…_It was my fault—I should never have agreed to this—Yoda even said we were going along a dark path—and I still chose not to tell him…_

Carefully, he took one of his arms as Ahsoka took the other, supporting him from underneath as well as they could. He was so much taller than either of them that it was difficult. Anakin moaned when they lifted him and his breathing sounded more strained.

"Quickly," Obi-Wan instructed as they moved toward the ship, trying not to trip over rocks in the dark.

Once they were inside, Ahsoka fired up the old ship while Obi-Wan found a med kit. When he opened it up, he grimaced. Everything in the kit had either been used or was too old to be of any use. Disgusted, he sorted through until he found a single bacta pad that wasn't totally dried up.

It would be more dangerous to try to move Anakin onto one of the bunks than to leave him on the floor where he was, so Obi-Wan simply slapped on the bacta pad over the wound in his chest and held his head off the floor.

The ship's engines rumbled beneath them as they took off. Obi-Wan drew a shuddering breath. "Anakin?" he whispered, reaching down to hold his friend's—his brother's—hand. He felt Anakin's shoulders relax, just a little bit, although he showed no sign of consciousness. "Well—" he said falteringly, "it looks like—I've underestimated you again."

He knew he was dying now. It wasn't time to hold back, and the words seemed to pour forth from some hidden vat he'd never opened, always kept to himself. "I trust you, Anakin. You know I trust you. I just—didn't realize—that there was more than one kind of power, and that doesn't include the Dark Side. There were so many Jedi who were like you, and either changed themselves to suit what the Council wanted, or gave up being—different. You didn't do either. We—we need you, Anakin! Come on! Come _on_!" He touched his face to Anakin's pale one for a moment. It was as if he was holding the dying Qui-Gon again. Only he was the one doing the talking this time, and it was the Padawan, not the Master, who was going to leave him.

He remembered the little boy from those days, with the high, piping voice that tried to sound so grown-up and the little snub nose. The boy who was a slave, but slave to nobody. The boy who raced podracers and was the only human who could do it. The boy with a higher midi-chlorian count than Master Yoda. The boy who could fix anything, fly anything, make anything, get anything if he wanted it badly enough.

This face—the one he saw now—the one with all the scars crisscrossing the skin from hundreds of battles, the dark circles under his eyes, the deadly pallor—_he_ had done this.

His metallic hand suddenly moved and grabbed Obi-Wan's arm.

As he turned to look at Anakin, a vision flooded his mind.

_He saw why Anakin would live until they got to Coruscant, why he would fight for it, why he needed Obi-Wan's help to make it that long. _

_He was going to Padmé. Anakin showed him the wedding. They were married. They had been married when he was still a Padawan. _

Obi-Wan didn't have any feeling left to feel betrayal; he simply understood.

Then Anakin's grip faltered and the cold metal interlocks fell limp against his Master's knee.

Obi-Wan knew what he had to do. It would only cause Anakin more pain, but he might make it back to Coruscant, to see Padmé.

Ahsoka ran up beside him. "We'll be in Coruscant— in less than an hour," she said shakily. She took Anakin's hand and squeezed it.

Obi-Wan placed his hands on Anakin's chest and gathered the Force to him as strongly as he could. He concentrated acutely on the wound Bane had made, directing the Force around it to heal it as best he could. It drained the strength from him in seconds, and the wound was barely affected.

Finally, Obi-Wan backed away, gasping for breath. Anakin was still motionless. His eyes met Ahsoka's. She looked small and pale all of a sudden, and she was shaking. He put his own equally shaking arm around her shoulders and she leaned over onto him, embracing him for the first time.

**ErinKenobi2893: Welcome to my other story! (= I guess the chapter probably sort of answers your question. This is mainly just yet another version of Revenge of the Sith. Only not nearly as complicated as TEOTCW. Yes, Sidious dies in this story, too; hahaha**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Mace sat in front of the holoprojector in his chambers. A signal had finally come through. He cracked a rare smile as he sent a summons to Master Yoda and connected the signal.

Rako's grim face, however, quickly erased any hopeful feelings. He hesitated before speaking. "The mission—has failed," he said slowly, his voice the voice of Obi-Wan and not the bounty hunter.

When he didn't say more, Mace spoke up. "I was afraid you'd say that," he said in a low voice. "We tried to warn you about Skywalker but we didn't have time to formulate a plan."

Obi-Wan avoided his gaze. "Bane and Moralo are dead," he said quietly. "Anakin soon will be."

Mace's heart sank. The Master—and the Padawan. And all was lost.

Obi-Wan took a shaky breath. "All I know is that Moralo was a ringleader of the plot. He answered directly to Count Dokoo, who is on Serenno. Dokoo's getting impatient. It won't be long before—he gets suspicious about the fact that they have not arrived and—will not answer his calls. He might or might not attempt to pull off the kidnapping without Moralo Eval."

Mace nodded grimly, looking at the floor with his hands clasped behind his back.

Master Yoda entered the room from behind him. "Going on in here, what is?" he questioned, his large eyes taking in more than just the scene.

"We need to delay the Chancellor's return to Naboo," Mace said quietly.

Obi-Wan remembered something. "And Senator Amidala's. If you have to keep her here by force, don't let her leave," he told them. "Tell her to meet us as soon as we land."

Mace raised an eyebrow, but Yoda nodded. "Do that, we can," he said. "Stopping the Chancellor, I am not so certain we can accomplish. Have any suggestions, do either of you?"

Obi-Wan remembered feeling as if the Chancellor had been speaking to him after Anakin—had been shot. "Tell him everything," he suggested, finally looking straight at the Masters. "Why should we keep it a secret? If we do keep quiet, it will only be used against us if the Chancellor does come to harm."

"Ponder this, we will," Yoda replied. "A grave situation, this has become. Master Kenobi, grateful for your participation, and sacrifice, the Republic is."

Obi-Wan looked away again and shut off the transmission, leaving Mace to fill in Yoda with the details. He almost wished they had berated him for his lack of focus. He wasn't sure he had done the right things as it were.

All his life he had been told to never let his feelings get in the way of the mission, but he could not aid the Chancellor when his own Padawan was dying.

Chancellor Palpatine listened carefully to every word that Master Windu said.

"Skywalker has been mortally wounded and they are returning to Coruscant. Although Bane and Moralo are dead, there is a complex plan still in place for your own harm. The Jedi insist you rethink your plans for traveling to Naboo."

The Chancellor was silent for a long moment, examining his wrinkled hands. "Skywalker and Kenobi are returning soon?"

"Yes, Your Excellency," Mace responded grimly.

"Very well," he said at last, "It seems that times are upon us wherein I _must_ heed your advice. Thank you, Master Windu. I will remain here until the threat has passed."

"No, thank you, Your Excellency," Mace replied, looking relieved. He bowed and quickly left.

When he was gone, Palpatine sat a long time without moving, tapping his fingers together over his desk.

"Skywalker nearly dead?" he finally asked, speaking to no one but himself. His face contorted and began to change into a hideous, grooved white mask with yellow, evilly glowing eyes. "How are these things no longer proceeding as I have foreseen?"

After a moment's contemplation, he took a key from his desk and unlocked a small drawer beside him. Taking out a comlink, he activated it. The light came on and the speaker crackled slightly. Darth Sidious spoke slowly and drew out the sentence. "Execute Order—sixty-six."

Padmé ran along the landing platform, having ditched her heavy Senate robes with one of her handmaidens. The med unit was just heading inside with Anakin on a stretcher. "Ani!" she shouted, catching up to the group and pushing her way to be by her husband's side.

_It was dark, and there was an explosion. A huge explosion, of color and light, and he saw Padmé. Then he realized that he was the one who had exploded. Oh, and so much pain—how could he—_

_He felt something else beside the pain nagging at him, forcing him to listen. He saw an Emperor. Why it was called an emperor he didn't know—Emperor was the name he was given. A hideous creature in a dark robe. And a Sith, with a lightsaber of a deadly plainness. This was the imbalance he was sent to stop; this was him—the evil of a thousand centuries—he was—he was…_

Suddenly, Anakin's eyes opened, but they were wide and unfocused. He started moaning and thrashing around on the stretcher.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan's voice rang out. A man in front of Padmé reached down and placed a hand on Anakin's forehead. He settled down, but he still wasn't breathing well.

Padmé looked up at the man before her as they ran beside the stretcher. His face was hideous and scarred, like that of the bounty hunter Yoda had described to her. He must've been Obi-Wan.

She cradled Anakin's face in her hands as they entered the med unit, her eyes void of tears. "What happened?" she asked Obi-Wan.

"He was shot by a bounty hunter," Obi-Wan's voice cracked. "It was my fault."

His tone scared her. Shakily she put a hand on his shoulder. "No, it wasn't," she told him, then looked back to Anakin.

In a few moments, they had him in bed and hooked up to a regulator. Anakin's breathing began to quicken and he finally opened his eyes and stared up into hers. "Are you an angel?" he whispered, almost too softly for her to hear.

Padmé put a hand to her mouth. "You're a funny little boy," she gasped, trying to smile. Then, regardless of the other people in the room and of their secret, she leaned over and kissed him, long and hard. He kissed her back and ran his hand gently along her face. The gesture felt weak. Her husband could hardly move his own hand.

Only then did she let herself cry, big tears, rolling down her face. She'd never cried like this before. _"What's wrong with me? What's really going on?!"_

Everyone in the room was completely silent, watching them.

Padmé didn't know what to say, didn't know what to ask. Then the medical droid passed in front of them. "We've done all we can," he said in his most sympathetic, metallic voice, then stood off to the side.

She gasped. "Ani?" she whispered, starting to panic. "You can't—leave. You can't. I—I just learned something this morning!" She stroked his hair gently. "We're going to have a baby in the spring. You're going to be a father, Ani!"

Behind them, Obi-Wan craned his neck to see something out the window.

Anakin moved his hand lovingly down to her belly, which wasn't showing yet but soon would be. "Two," he whispered hoarsely, cracking a smile. "We're going to have two babies."

Padmé opened her eyes wide. "Oh, Ani! You—you must see them!" She gripped his hand, willing him to live because of the babies. He had to!

"Master?" Anakin forced himself to speak loud enough so that he could be heard.

Obi-Wan was still staring out the window. "Heaven help us," he said in a flat tone, "the Temple's on fire."

"_Execute Order 66_," the transmission came in to Captain Rex's comm.

"What the—" he muttered, staring at it for a long moment as if it were the comm. that had spoken and not the Republic official who had given the order. _"Order 66? It must be a mistake! Or could the Republic possibly think that all their clones are stupid enough to—to—_

He had never been so shocked by an order before in his life, and he'd received his fair share of orders.

Two clones suddenly bumped into him from either side as they rushed down the hall past him. "Hey!" he yelled, rubbing his shoulder, "And just where are you two headed?"

"Didn't you receive the transmission?" one of the helmeted clones replied, sounding confused.

"Of course I received the transmission!" Rex snapped. Then he stopped. A little girl, a Jedi youngling, was crossing the hallway in front of them. She looked about six years old. His eyes opened wide and he watched the other two clones apprehensively. "_Would they really be fool enough—" _

"Hey, look!" shouted the other clone, raising his blaster at the little girl. The other raised his as well and was about to shoot!

Rex lunged forward and knocked both of their heads together as hard as he could. "Wait just a moment, you blockheads!" he shouted. "And think about your orders before you carry them out!" He grabbed both of them by their collars underneath of their armor, a trick he'd learned while training rookies a while back. The little Jedi was frightened and had begun to cry. "Are you monsters?" he growled in their faces, "or are you _men_? One kills innocent children. The other does _not_."

He dropped them both on the floor, mostly unconscious. "Come here, sweetheart," he gestured to the little one, "Let's get you somewhere where you're safe."

He picked her up and carried her around the corner, only to run straight into a group of very familiar-looking clones.

The 501'st legion.

It was an awkward moment, to say the least. "Well," he said slowly, turning his head to take in each of the helmeted faces, "And where would all of you be headed?" He tightened his grip on the little one.

Several of his own clones quietly cocked their blasters.

Rex had never prayed before, but he did in that moment.

"What'll it be, men?" he said gruffly. "You were man enough to stand through hundreds of battles. You fought for three years. Are you man enough to stand up to your own brothers?"

"I know one brother it takes a heck of a man to stand up to," one clone in the back, named Dric, said quietly. He raised his blaster toward Rex. "And I'm the one to do it."

Rex dodged and ran back the way he'd came just as a smoking shot rang out behind him from Dric's blaster, only to be confronted with another legion of clones marching from the opposite direction. Rex gasped as thirty or so of them raised their blasters at him simultaneously. He ran around a barrage of shots and flew through a doorway, still carrying the frightened little girl, and locked the door behind him.

A single clone stood guard in the small room. The instant he raised his blaster, Rex dropped the girl and ran toward him, knocking the blaster out of the way. The shocked clone hesitated a moment, just long enough for Rex to give him a good punch to the stomach. "What are you thinking!?" a young voice gasped behind the helmet. "You're disobeying orders!"

"Just doing what my mother taught me!" Rex grunted, swinging around and throwing him over his shoulder.

"You don't have a mother!" the clone grabbed the front of his uniform and pulled him overhead, taking off his helmet on the way down and delivering a solid punch to the jaw.

Rex levered his arm and broke it. "Then I didn't need one to teach me what we both already know," he muttered in his ear as the younger clone cried out. He could hear screams from outside. Something was going on. Quickly he gave the clone a good whack upside the head with his own blaster, knocking him out, and grabbed the little Jedi again. He needed to find a safe place for her. But where could he go? His own legion was against him now!

Then he remembered where he'd been going in the first place. He'd been heading over to the meds to meet up with Generals Skywalker and Kenobi. Did any of the other clones know they were there?

There were two doors in the room: one that had angry brothers on the other side and one that did not. Rex set the little girl down on the other side of the second door and cautiously cracked it open.

He'd seen some pretty shocking things in his time. But this time, his mouth dropped open in spite of himself.

The sheer number of clones was staggering. There must've been thousands marching, running, working, and otherwise destroying everything in sight. The Jedi Temple, which always loomed high above the cityscape, was being burnt to the ground. Screams from civilians and defenseless Jedi alike rose up for what must have been miles around. Blaster shots went off everywhere, and nearer to the Temple, he could see hundreds of lightsaber battles breaking out. Speeders lay wrecked on every platform and smaller fires were scattered about, even burning down civilian houses.

"The world's gone mad," he muttered to himself.

Behind him, he heard a click as his own legion unlocked the door from the outside. They were coming.

Somehow, he was going to get that girl through the mess outside and to the Senatorial med unit.

Somehow.

**Replies to my lovely Reviewers: **

**Mo Angel—From bad to worse! Don't worry, there's a sort of happy ending. By that I mean that the world doesn't end completely. More is coming soon!**

**starflyergirl—I feel the exact same way about Anakin. I almost think the only way they got away with the whole Dark Side thing is because Hayden C wasn't really that great of an actor (at least not in my opinion, maybe yours is different), and I really have to say that in the CW show I loved Anakin to death and was so mad to see him turn. Of course he had to, but it would have been a lot more realistic to have him portrayed as a totally different type of character from the beginning. Anyway, 'nuff of my rambling. Thanks for reading!**

** .5851—Yeah, the whole turnaround was rather abrupt, huh? Welcome to my other story! Don't worry, Ahsoka will be well looked-after (=**

**Slade01—Thank you! It means a lot to hear from readers. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well! **

**ErinKenobi2893—Look out Darthie, here she comes! Why don't you write fanfic? It would be awesome! As long as you didn't go too wild Kenobi, though—hummm. The damage to Obi-Wan's larynx is definitely the first thing on my mind *insert sarcasm here* but I agree, bro moments are quite tear-inducing. I wrote one I was going to use for the other story, but I might not end up using it. Maybe I'll just send it to you for your personal enjoyment lol. **

**Thanks once again everybody who read! Please review on this chapter and the next will be coming out shortly!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Obi-Wan slowly turned from the awful scene outside and met Anakin's gaze. They exchanged a look of mutual understanding. He knew he had to go out there, and Anakin knew it too.

"I'll see you later, Master," Anakin whispered with a grim look. With the Force, he unhooked his own lightsaber from his belt and propelled it over to his friend.

Obi-Wan headed out the door, then stopped when he realized what Anakin had actually just said.

He had underestimated Anakin's abilities before, namely his ability to see into the future with the Force. This would not be a good time to do it again.

Even so, nothing Anakin said would make him change his mind. Knowing his fate, he gave his Padawan a grim nod, meeting his piercing blue eyes one last time before heading out the door.

He would indeed see him later.

He passed Captain Rex in the hallway, who was carrying a youngling in one arm while the other hung limply at his side. The clone captain was breathing hard and his face was badly scratched. He looked as though he'd fought his way through a gundark nest seven times in a row.

Upon seeing him, Rex stopped and surveyed him critically for a moment, not recognizing the face of Rako Hardin but definitely recognizing the lightsaber in his hand. Obi-Wan wasn't about to stop and explain who he was, but Rex spoke to him anyway.

"I don't know if you know it yet, but the clones are killing every Jedi they see. Don't go out there."

"I hear you," Obi-Wan replied, sizing up what had been said.

Rex drew back when he heard the familiar voice of Obi-Wan coming from a bounty hunter's face who carried Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber, but the Jedi left quickly.

Rex shrugged with one good arm and ran into the med unit with the girl.

"General—"

The words died on his lips when he saw Anakin's face.

Ahsoka was huddled in the corner. She looked up at him with a tear-stained face. "What happened to you, Rex?" she asked in a remarkably strong voice.

Rex stood stock-still for a moment, not wanting to tell her. But she needed to know so she could protect herself. "It's called Order 66," he said quietly.

Anakin started and Padmé squeezed his hand, although neither of them could've known what the order was. Rex let the little girl slide to the floor. Ahsoka came up and took her in her lap.

"It states that Jedi are now the enemies of the Republic and are to be—" he gulped, "—annihilated."

Anakin's eyes sparked.

"Even the 501'st are attacking Jedi, no matter what their age," he continued, trying to keep his voice from shaking. "It's a miracle this one survived." He nodded to the little girl in Ahsoka's lap, whose little round, pink face was now streaked with dirt and tears. Then he moved nearer to Anakin, who took his hand in a pitifully fierce grip.

"Captain Rex," Anakin rasped, "take care of _my_ girls, too."

Rex looked over at Padmé, then at Ahsoka. He held up his blaster with his good arm. "On my life, sir," he choked out. Then he turned, so no one could see the captain of the 501'st Legion crying.

Somehow, Skywalker had always been the invincible one. It was impossible to believe he was really dying, after all those battles they'd been in together—the Republic needed him so much—

"Padmé."

Everyone turned to see Anakin with a strangely hardened expression.

"What is it, love?" Padmé asked quickly.

Anakin gave her a broad smile. It was almost eerie on his deathly pale face. "Do people still call me the Chosen One?"

Padmé was speechless for a moment. It was such a strange question, especially now that he was—couldn't ever— "I suppose they do," she stuttered, "but Ani—"

The door opened suddenly and who but Chancellor Palpatine himself entered! He hurried over to Anakin with a concerned expression. "I came as soon as I heard!" he exclaimed, wringing his hands in vexation.

"I'm sure you did," Anakin muttered.

"Dear boy," he continued as if he hadn't heard, "I can't help but feel this is all my fault."

"It is."

Padmé blinked. "Anakin?"

The kindly Chancellor ignored the exchange. "I am afraid I underestimated the lengths to which you would go, as well as the secretive nature of the Jedi Council—"

Anakin's eyes glinted strangely. "Lots of people have underestimated me, Chancellor."

Palpatine nodded sympathetically.

Anakin's hand rested on Padmé's shoulder, and he gently but firmly pushed her away, with strength that fairly shocked her. "Your first time," he growled toward Palpatine, sitting up in bed, "will be your LAST."

He reached out and from beneath the Chancellor's dignified robes a straight, horribly plain lightsaber hilt flew into his hand.

Everyone in the room gaped at the last thing they'd expected to see on Palpatine, sitting in Anakin's mechanical hand. In one motion he activated it in front of Palpatine's chest. Padmé, Ahsoka, and the little youngling screamed, but Anakin didn't move.

"I heard you give order 66," Anakin rasped.

It was the last phrase the Chancellor would ever hear. As they watched, Palpatine's face morphed from that of the Senator they all knew to a pale, shrunken facial image, hollowed out and angry. His eyes turned yellow. Black smoke began to fill the room from around where he stood.

Ahsoka covered the youngling's eyes.

The Sith lord seemed to melt away into the smoke; until, shrunken and deformed after Anakin's attack, he fell to the floor in a cloud and vanished into the realm of the Dark Force.

"Sith," Anakin spat.

The red-bladed lightsaber went out, dropped from his hand, and clattered to the floor.

"Ani?" Padmé whispered.

He fell backward. She caught him halfway. His eyes were closed.

Carefully she settled him down on the bed, smoothing his hair back and kissing him one last time as tears began to blind her vision.

It was over.

**Replies to Reviewers: **

**AngelDesaray: Sorry, too late **** Although part of me feels that, if I made you cry, I did my job right haha. What did you think of this chapter? **

** .5851: Well, it was supposed to be because he realized Anakin was dying, so he really had no reason to wait any longer. He's decided to go through with the final stage of his plan without Vader's help. If that makes sense! **

**Anna granger27: Aww, that means so much! Thank you! I hope this chapter holds up to the standard (: **

**Bonhamrules: Glad you liked it! That is one of the fun things about writing/reading fast-paced stories like this one. Not as much detail, but I hope there are some cool surprises along the way. **

**ErinKenobi2893: Wow. I will go look at your stuff, like, right now. If I don't update for awhile-you know I'm busy reading! Haha. **


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

By the next morning all the med units and nearby hospitals were full; so full that anyone who could walk was sent away, even if they'd already been admitted.

Bail Organa had assumed temporary control of Coruscant and, subsequently, the Republic as well. He had quickly countered Order 66, but once the fighting had begun, it was incredibly difficult to end. Members of the Senate, as well as personal bodyguards and even civilians, had joined the fighting or been forced up into it to protect themselves or reach their homes. The wounded and the casualties reflected this, with nearly every type of being found on the planet represented.

Rex took Ahsoka, Padmé, and the little one up to Padmé's apartment and headed back to help with the wounded.

"But you're wounded yourself!"both ladies protested almost simultaneously.

Rex held up his blaster. "The Republic'll be a mighty peaceful place when a bruised arm is considered a wound," he said.

"I want to come with you!" Ahsoka begged.

Rex wasn't in the mood for arguing. Ahsoka's face was still streaked with tears, and she looked exhausted. That should have been enough argument for her. "Tomorrow, Commander. There's far too much unrest out there today. You rest. You need it."

"Look for Master Kenobi," Ahsoka sniffed. "He's the one you ran into in the hall."

Rex raised his eyebrows in complete bewilderment. "_That_ was General Kenobi?"

"In disguise," Ahsoka said simply.

"All right. I'll look for him," Rex promised.

The next morning, before anyone else in Padmé's apartment was awake, Ahsoka borrowed a datapack and searched through the Senate directory for Lux Bonteri. An accented female voice answered her call.

"May I speak with Senator Bonteri? I'm a personal friend."

"Another one of those, huh?" the woman sounded skeptical. "You'd be amazed by how many so-called 'personal friends' a senator finds he has. Besides, you couldn't speak with him anyway. He's not here right now."

"Where is he?"

"Huh!" the woman exclaimed. "You wanna find him that badly, you go out and look for him in all this mayhem in the streets!"

"He went out there?" Ahsoka gasped.

"That young man couldn't stay away from a fight if he wanted to. He'd give his life for any of those Jedi."

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of," Ahsoka said impatiently. "Does he have a personal comlink on him? Has anyone tried to contact him?"

"No one wants to bother him. He's probably busy helping with the survivors, but he probably has his comlink on him. If you want the code, I'll give it to you. I suppose he can always block you if he wants to."

"Right. Thanks." Ahsoka got the code and dropped the transmission, pounding in the code to Lux's personal comm.

"Hey, who is this?" Lux's familiar voice answered.

"Lux? It's me, Ahsoka! Are you all right?"

"Ahsoka! My comm's been broken! I can't send calls, only receive them. I'm trapped with several younglings under the ruins of the Temple. I guess we're buried pretty deep—we can't get out and nobody can hear us."

Ahsoka threw on a tunic and pants and her boots while she listened. "Oh, Lux! Hang on, Rex and I are coming out. We'll find you guys. Are you all okay otherwise?"

"We're fine," Lux's voice sounded tired. "We've just been down here a long time. But be careful, Ahsoka. I can't see what's going on up there now, but you could still be in danger."

"Rex promised I could go out today," Ahsoka told him, "And things have settled down almost completely."

"I'm glad you called, Ahsoka," Lux said quietly. "It sure takes a load off my mind to know you're all right."

She could hear him coughing after he spoke. It was probably smoky down where he was trapped, and he hadn't had any water in at least a day.

"I was lucky," she told him. "I was never even out in that mess. End our transmission so you save power. We'll be right out and I'll call you again, alright?"

"Sounds good to me." Ahsoka could almost see the relieved smile on his face as she ended the transmission.

"Rex? REX!" she yelled, running into the other room as she tugged at her second boot.

The clone captain was sleeping soundly on the couch, but like a true soldier, he woke up immediately. "What is it, Commander?" he said rather sleepily, tossing aside his pillow and getting up.

"I just called Lu—I mean, Senator Bonteri—and he said he's trapped underneath the Temple ruins with several younglings. We're the only ones who know where they're at!"

Rex was already strapping on his armor. "That could be tricky, Ahsoka," he reminded her as she scoured through Padmé's cupboards in search of a canteen. "You never knew how big the Temple was until you see it flat. They could be anywhere within a square mile."

Within five minutes they had arrived at the site where the Temple had once stood. As Rex climbed down from the speeder, Ahsoka sat dumbstruck, unable to move as she soaked in the scene.

_Burned. _

She'd known about it, but to see it with her own eyes was so different. The ragged, charred edges of walls still standing upright, surrounded by ash and the blackened remains of everything she'd ever called home. How many of her fellow Jedi lay resting in that ash, she'd never even know. All those lives, not to mention all the records and files from thousands upon thousands of years ago, all of which were so vital to the Jedi's continued existence.

It was the clones who had done it. It was they who had dared to set fire to the Temple of Ages. Ahsoka fought to keep bitter hate from rising up in her throat. Why could not more of them have been like Rex? They were supposed to all be the same. They were supposed to be brave, not cowardly.

She forced the feelings down. That was not right, she told herself. Anakin would have told her the same. She swallowed hard and tried to forget.

"Ahsoka?" Rex questioned, wondering why she hadn't moved.

"Oh. Sorry, Rex."

The Captain gave her a kind, worried smile as he handed her down from the speeder.

Ahsoka activated her comlink and connected to Lux again. "Lux, can you hear me?"

"Beautifully," Lux responded, with a touch of humor in his voice.

Ahsoka found that she couldn't smile. "Where were you at in the Temple when it collapsed?

"Ahhhh; near the children's quarters in the southeast section. We were on the second floor, but that definitely doesn't exist anymore."

"Perfect. I know where that is, and it doesn't take ten minutes to get to."

"You'll want to watch your heads," Rex added. "It'll be a fine art to get you out from that deep without making something fall on top of you."

"Yes, sir," Lux responded over the comm.

"Don't worry, though, we'll get you out," the captain concluded, turning to Ahsoka. "So where is this section?"

"Follow me," Ahsoka replied, shutting off the comm. and heading in the direction of what used to be the quarters for the younglings.

Rex was right. Moving piles of metalloid sheeting and brick and millions of unknown materials was tricky work, and they had a few near scares, but by noon of that day, they had uncovered Lux and the younglings. There were four of them, none injured too seriously, but all of them very weak. Ahsoka grabbed Lux by the hand as he came out and put his arm across her shoulders to support him. Lux gave her a weary smile. The distinguished Senator had officially proven that he could indeed get a 'little' dirty now and then.

Then she gasped. "Lux, your eye!"

Lux smiled painfully. His right eye was swollen shut and the skin around it was red, indicating a burn. "It's—it's fine," he tried to reassure her. "Ahsoka, don't look like that! I hate it when you look upset!"

"I hate it when you're hurt!" she exclaimed, as they hugged each other fiercely. She was trembling slightly, and it bothered Lux.

Then they sat down on the rubble. Ahsoka handed him a canteen, and he took several long swigs. Rex and several other volunteer workers were taking care of the four little younglings. One was almost old enough to be a Padawan—the others were smaller, ones that Ahsoka remembered caring for during certain rotations.

As several other volunteers cared for them, Rex surveyed the entire group. "Ahsoka, why don't you take them down to the medical units and see if there's a place for them. We'll keep working up here."

Ahsoka nodded. "All right, Rex."

Lux was staring rather suspiciously at the Captain. "Isn't he a—clone?" he whispered to Ahsoka. He didn't mean for Rex to hear it, but Ahsoka knew he had.

"You can trust Rex," she promised Lux. "He's a _true_ soldier. And—he's family."

The med units all refused Lux and the younglings, because they all could still walk. Although Lux only barely managed to convince a _very_ upset Ahsoka not to mind-trick the medical personnel into taking them, they eventually decided to head back to the Senatorial quarters.

"But you can't just wait!" Ahsoka snapped. "Your eye—it'll—you could go blind!"

"One eye isn't worth another person's life, Ahsoka. You know that," Lux said softly.

Ahsoka didn't respond. She stared straight ahead over the wheel of the speeder as she drove them back to the Senate. "I hate this war!" she exclaimed suddenly. Her hands shook as she tried to hold the wheel. "I hate—this whole war—and I hate the—the clones and I hate Palpatine and how everybody can't do anything but fight, and fight, and keep fighting and dying and getting hurt—" she drove them right out in front of a freighting ship she hadn't seen. Lux grabbed the wheel from beside her and they flew out of the way just in time. Ahsoka's shoulders heaved with sobs as he drove them out of traffic and into a parking lane just off to the side, then took her in his arms.

She cried hysterically on his shoulder. "I hate—all—this—fighting!"

"What is it?" Lux asked softly. The younglings stared at her from the backseat with wide eyes.

"I don't know," Ahsoka sniffed, her face wet with tears. "Anakin."

Lux waited, still holding her. "Anakin's dead," she choked out at last. "Cad Bane killed him—right before I got there to help it was—it was my fault!"

"It wasn't your fault," Lux whispered. "It wasn't. I'm so sorry, Ahsoka."

She drew back and wiped her eyes dry. "Sorry." She tried to smile at him and the younglings, but it didn't come out. "Sorry. I'm really sorry, guys."

She tried to take the wheel again but Lux gently moved her hand away. "I'll fly the rest of the way."

When they entered Padmé's apartment, she was nowhere to be found.

Once the younglings were all washed and bandaged up and fed, Ahsoka bundled all four of them into the big bed. The little ones went right to sleep, but the older one wouldn't go to bed until she hugged first Lux, then Ahsoka, and gave them each a kiss on the cheek with her little white lips. "Thank you, Assie," she said softly, as Ahsoka tucked her snugly under the blankets. Ahsoka smiled back, the first time she'd smiled since she'd crashed on Nal-Hutta.

She went out to the second room, where Lux was resting on the couch. He looked older today for some reason, much older. Maybe it was the shadow of a beard on his unshaven face. Ahsoka decided maybe she liked the change.

Both of them had eaten with the younglings, so there wasn't much left for them to do. Ahsoka carefully bandaged his eye in the best way she knew how, but they both knew it wouldn't heal until he had more experienced help. When she was done, they both settled back on the couch together, both exhausted but not wanting to sleep.

They stared into space for a moment, and then he turned his head to look at her. She met his gaze, he smiled, she smiled back, and they both went back to staring into space. "I suppose this is how it will always be," Lux said after a while.

"How so?" she asked softly.

"You're always coming to rescue _me_. I wish I could rescue _you_ for once."

"For you to do that, I'd have to be in trouble," Ahsoka smiled.

"Which you're always in," he smiled back. "Problem is, you're a Jedi, so you always rescue yourself."

"Oh, no," she corrected him. "There are so many times I can't save myself I couldn't count them if I tried." She thought of how she'd broken down on their way home and frowned. "You've helped me at least as much as I've helped you, probably more."

"I wish I could do more," he said quietly. "I wish I could take care of you."

She watched him closely, wondering what he meant. She thought of what Anakin had told Rex, _"Take care of my girls…"_

Her voice sounded unsteady when she replied, "You are."

"Could you really use me," Lux stated more than he asked.

Tears began to stream down her face in spite of herself. "I can always use a brave—a—" she choked, looking down into her lap.

Taking a deep breath and wiping her eyes, she changed the subject. "You—you should really keep the beard, Lux."

He put a hand to his face in confusion, forgetting for a moment that he hadn't shaved. "—Really?" he asked after a moment.

"Really." She sniffed, and did her best to smile. "You look good with it, older and more dis-tin-guished," she rolled her tongue over the long word.

"—I suppose that's a good thing?" he replied, looking amused but not knowing quite what to make of what she'd said.

He looked around suddenly, as if he just noticed that they were in Padmé's apartment without her knowing it. "I should probably get back to my own apartment," he said at last. "I have work to do."

They stood up and Ahsoka put a hand on his shoulder. "Rest first," she ordered, narrowing her eyes at him.

He laughed a little. "All right, Commander."

Her hard expression melted and she embraced him. "Take care of yourself."

He hugged her back, then held her at arm's length and looked her in the eye. "You, too."

Then he left, leaving her with the sleeping younglings.

Exhausted, she decided to nap on the couch for awhile before going to find Padmé. _"The Skywalker family and associates can take on the whole galaxy,"_ she thought to herself as she lay down, _"but first the associate needs her rest…"_


	8. Epilogue

**Okay guys, I am so sorry it has taken so long! Here is the epilogue to Deception. The story is now complete! Thank you all so much for riding along with this! The reason I waited to publish this is because, while I had already written the other chapters before publishing, I had some things I wanted to change in this epilogue and wasn't exactly sure how. **

**Replies to my **_**fantastic **_**Reviewers: **

**AngelDesaray: Ah, wheeeeellll; you'll just have to read this and find out! Grin grin. **

** .5851: It's all good here in the end, though (= and glad you liked the ending. I almost debated ending it there instead of here, but—tell me what you think of this section. Kind of a weak ending, I'm afraid! Been having a ton of trouble with endings…**

**ErinKenobi2893: Ohhh, boy. I'm sorry—this story is VERY fast-paced. Basically, because I wrote all this a long time ago and no longer have any idea how to fix, here's what's going on: Anakin killed Sidious and died right afterward. They're both gone. Sorry (= heheh. Bail Organa automatically succeeded Palpatine as the emergency leader of the galaxy and immediately countered Order 66. However, it was too late to save the majority of the Jedi. There's a good number of survivors but not most of them. The Temple was flattened in the final battles between Jedi and clones before the order was countered and Obi-Wan mysteriously disappeared in the mayhem…Hope that clears some stuff up! **

Epilogue

Two days later, substantial reinforcements arrived to help with the rest of the rescue and medical missions, from systems such as Alderaan, Mandalore, Naboo, and countless others. The entire galaxy had rallied to rebuild their capital and restore it to its former glories, besides bringing aid the greatest heroes of the war: the Jedi and those who had helped them.

Rex, although he had not yet located Obi-Wan Kenobi, decided to take the emotionally exhausted Padmé and Ahsoka to rest on Naboo. They brought several young Jedi with them that had nowhere else to go. They also brought Anakin's body for a funeral on the planet he'd considered home. They lived with the Naberrie family for a few weeks after the funeral before making several trips to Coruscant and other planets Padmé had political business with.

Meanwhile Bail Organa worked with Yoda, several other Jedi, and the delegation of 2,000 to restore order to the broken Republic. Lux Bonteri served committedly with the delegation and other senators, even though he had serious health struggles related to his injury and an infection that followed before he could receive medical attention. In the end, he had to have the eye completely removed and could not bionically replace it due to complications, but made a full recovery in every way besides. He wore an eyepatch for the rest of his life, and Ahsoka never got tired of telling people he was a pirate.

Padmé returned to her family's household to give birth to Luke and Leia Skywalker, both healthy and strong with the Force from day one. Ahsoka, her mother, and her sister personally assisted her. Rex wasn't sure at first what he would make of the little ones, but he found he was downright fascinated with them and was thrilled with watching them grow into little kids and beyond. He became the closest thing they had to a father. Rex died due to the growth acceleration in his genetic breeding at the age of 38.

Two years after the battle, Lux and Ahsoka were married on Onderon in a beautiful outdoor ceremony in front of the royal palace. For several years, he continued his work as a Senator while Ahsoka made it her business to care for the estranged surviving younglings, but when the remaining children grew a bit older she made the unexpected decision to serve as a representative for her native planet of Shili. After this, she and Lux had three sons and a daughter.

Luke and Leia went on to work closely as Naboo ambassadors to various planets. Leia enjoyed this work and continued it even after marrying and having children, but Luke made the decision to become more involved with the Jedi.

He singlehandedly defeated Count Dooku at the age of seventeen, and went on to become the most powerful Jedi in all of history. Luke eventually became leader of the Order after the deaths of Yoda and Sasee Tiin. He also married Mara Jade after freeing her from dark side captivity and they had two children.

Padmé continued her work as a Senator for many years. Lux introduced her to his fellow Onderonian representative, Sonson Welaki, and the two were eventually wed. Together, they had one son, John Anakin Welaki.

And one day, ten years after the Battle of Coruscant, something very strange happened.

Satine Kryze, former Duchess of Mandalore, was minding her own business around her apartment when she heard a knock at the door.

Answering it, she found herself face-to-face with a strange-looking man. He looked decent, clean, well-kept; as was well-dressed as though he had prepared to meet her and intended to show his respect. The strange thing about him, however, was that he had a hard expression about him and a network of unusual scars crisscrossing his skin. Even his face.

He looked at her, a sad expression deepening in his eyes. "Duchess Satine?" His voice was rough.

"Yes, that was once me," she answered, trying to smile and finding that she was studying him.

As if there was something about him she remembered, that was familiar.

"Satine." the hard voice softened, just a tiny bit.

"Yes?" she asked impatiently. A tiny alarm went off inside her, though she wasn't sure what it meant.

The man hesitated, as if he was teetering on the edge of something he knew he should never tell, but wanted to with all his soul. Suddenly, he seemed to come to a bridge, speaking in a rushed tone.

"Satine, I know I'm gonna have to prove this to you somehow, but it's me—Obi-Wan!"

Satine's eyes went wide and she fainted right into his arms.

THE END


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